A Gastonia woman may not have 911 on speed dial, but she has called Gaston County emergency dispatchers 365 times in less than three months.

None of the calls were for emergencies, said Gastonia police Sgt. Jimmy Arndt.

Each time the woman called she’d hang up. When dispatchers returned calls, she would say it was a mistake or blame her cat for stepping on the phone, Arndt said.

Dispatchers kept looking the other way until this week when a complaint was filed with Gastonia police. Officers went to the woman’s Highland Street home Wednesday to investigate.

The woman’s husband told police that his wife had a medical issue and that’s why she made the repeat calls.

The woman was not charged, but she was warned.

Officers took the woman to Gaston Memorial where she stayed the night.

By Thursday afternoon, the woman got home, picked up the phone and called 911, according to Lloyd Moskowitz, Gaston County director of 911 communications.

“It would appear we have to go the criminal route this time,” said Moskowitz.

The woman was charged with abusing 911, a misdemeanor.

Gaston County communications dispatches about 35,000 calls a month, totaling 415,000 in 2012.

Typically 13 dispatchers work a shift at the communications department. The team fields calls for county police, multiple city police departments as well as rescue squads, fire departments and Animal Control.

Tying up their time with unnecessary calls is serious, said Gaston County Police Assistant Chief Joe Ramey.

“You’re taking a dispatcher away from where someone might be calling in an actual emergency,” he said. “The workload is pretty heavy and the work that they do is valuable. They’re our lifeline.”

You can reach reporter Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817 and twitter.com/GazetteDiane.